Water (Services) Regulations, Legal Notice No. 54 of 2025.

These Regulations, implementing provisions of the Water Act, provide a detailed legal and operational framework for water and sewerage services in Kenya, covering governance, licensing, standards, tariffs, enforcement, and stakeholder roles to ensure sustainable and equitable water service delivery across the country. provide or intend to provide water services to obtain a license from the Water Services Regulatory Board. The Regulations, divided into eighteen parts, concern specific aspects of water services provision and management, and apply to the National government and its agencies and departments, county governments and their departments and entities, and to any other person providing water services in the country. The Regulation define the following relevant terms: bulk water; commercial viability, in respect to both urban and rural water services; public water works; Water Sector Trust Fund; National Environmental Management Authority; sewerage services; water tariff; water action group; water tribunal; waterworks development agency. Part II of the Regulations focuses on county government framework for water services provision, and includes: powers and duties of County Executive Committee Members responsible for water and sewerage services, development of county water and sewerage services strategies and policies, roles of county directors and annual monitoring and evaluation by county executives.
Part III concerns: establishment of county water and sewerage services providers and definition of their functions; governance of water services providers; county government financial support to the water services providers and financial measures; keeping books of account of income, expenditure, assets and liabilities; estimates of revenues and expenditures; private sector participation and public-private partnership; operation of community water projects. Part IV focuses on: application for a licence for providing water services and content of a licence, including: promoting the use of recycled or treated wastewater, maintain infrastructure and networks for a safe reuse, recycling or disposal of waste water, imposing a charge for water services; public consultation and application fees. Part V concerns: systems and standards for operation of water services, and includes: schedule of water supply; execution of waterworks and related consent. Part VI concerns effluent and wastewater disposal system; preparation of an effluent and wastewater disposal plan; control of effluent. Part VII concerns water tariffs and includes: application for regular tariff review; implementation of tariffs by water services providers. Part VIII concerns clustering of water services providers for securing a commercially viable water services.
Part IX concerns bulk water supply services by waterworks development agencies; issuance of licence and public consultation on application for bulk water supply licence. Further Parts concern: sewerage services and water consumption levy; consent for the construction of a borehole within a water supply area; ensuring availability and development of sources of water for abstraction; regulation of water vending procedures; closure of unsafe supplies of water; water quality and service standards for rural and undeserved areas; approval and construction of works connections to the water reticulation or sewerage system; inspection, evaluation and monitoring measures; record keeping and georeferenced information system; obtaining water services data; complaints mechanism; enforcement actions against licensed water services providers; offences and miscellaneous provisions.